John Riddell: Democracy in Lenin's Comintern

How did Communist parties handle issues of internal discipline and democracy in Lenin’s time? The recent intense discussion within the British Socialist Workers’ Party (SWP) and beyond has heard claims that the SWP rests on the traditions of democratic centralism inherited from the Bolsheviks.

Richard Atkinson: Death and the Bedroom Tax

Some extended thoughts about Stephanie Bottrill, the woman who committed suicide because of the bedroom tax.

Dave Renton: Who Was Blair Peach?

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the killing of Blair Peach by the police. David Renton looks back at Blair Peach’s life as a poet, trade unionist and committed antifascist

Bunny La Roche: Nasty Little Nigel gets a rude welcome to Kent

Bunny La Roche of RS21 on Nigel Farage's visit to Kent

Financial Appeal

We in the IS Network are appalled to hear of the threats of violence made to our comrade and friend Laurie Penny on Twitter. We stand in solidarity with her, and with all the women who have recently been subjected to similar disgusting misogynist abuse online, now escalating into open threats of violence. We stand with BME people, LGBTQ people, and disabled people who have suffered hideous slurs on social media. The recently announced anti-abuse button on Twitter is of course an overdue and welcome response to this, but this abuse is fundamentally an expression of a deep social sickness of our sexist society. Arguably the only silver lining about this barrage of bile on social media is that it lays very bare the extraordinary depth and breadth of this sexism. Such sewage, up to and including sexually violent and murderous threats, is an extreme manifestation of the everyday sexist tropes that permeate and saturate our society. Laurie has been a stalwart fighter against such depredations, for a world fit to live in, where such abuse is a thing of the past. We are proud to stand with her.